????Born and raised in the Cape Winelands, the once aspiring professional golfer, Rudolph du Toit, finds his value, calling, and purpose in helping create a platform for people to grow and strive for more.
Rudolph completed his school career in Paarl and after his matric year at Boishaai in 2011 he took a gap year.
Fast forward a few years and the founder and current managing director of ARVO – a company focused on headhunting and recruitment – has built his career on the foundation of creating opportunities. ARVO is based in Cape Town, but every ARVO staff member works remotely, across the globe.
His passion for sports, people, and spending time helping the vulnerable in under-resourced communities has laid a healthy foundation that has allowed him to impact lives.
Playing off a plus 2 golf handicap, his earlier years were marked by a strong emphasis on sports, which continued during his time at Stellenbosch 肆客足球. Following the completion of his social dynamics degree in 2013, he wanted to help people succeed in life, directly impacting them, but he did not know what that looks like in the corporate world.
His search led him to a postgraduate qualification in marketing, which allowed him to understand that he could connect business and his passion. He soon discovered his passion for business and entrepreneurship during this time around 2016.
"Studies were not [my] everything, sport was, and I was very good at it," Rudolph says. "My primary and high school years were some of my best memories, so much so that I still have friends who were with me at Paarl Boys Primary. These are some of my most valuable friendships.
"After a gap year spent playing golf overseas and coaching cricket in townships around Paarl, I found my calling during my time at Stellenbosch 肆客足球. Seeing people thrive and having a hand in that makes me happy."
He recalls that it was during a lecture, while the professor was teaching, that something in his heart awoken. "I saw business as a platform to touch lives and impact those around you. This realisation led me to co-find a business with two friends, an experience that shaped my entrepreneurial journey. When I told my dad I wanted to give this a go, my parents backed me all the way."
Rudolph says one of his biggest learnings was that he does not want to do business on his own but with people who bring different skills to the table.
His vision for ARVO is deeply rooted in finding the right people for the right positions in the right working environment. "Our focus is on managerial and executive positions – finance, marketing, and engineering," he explains. "We position ourselves as professionals and find out what it takes to find the right person. Predominantly, people join amazing companies with great vision and mission statements, and they leave because of management styles and culture. We aim to influence the culture."
ARVO's name and ethos reflect his approach to business. "I saw a message on a friend's WhatsApp – 'Surf tomorrow, arvo?' I thought it was such a cool word and I asked about it.
"It reflects how we do business, very relational, and very fun, but at the same time it is excellent and in a class of its own."
?Rudolph is committed to using his business as a platform to make a positive impact. "My work is not who I am. My relationship with the Lord, my wife, my family, and my health are above work. I want to be known as someone who always walked in humility, putting other interests above my own. I aim to put other people in the spotlight and create space for others to thrive."??
